Edmonton Exhibition Lands

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As the City’s second largest urban infill site, in a premier location close to downtown, LRT and transit, the river valley, a vibrant park area and green space amenities, this is an opportunity made for Edmonton and its big ideas.

We’re in the process of working with Edmontonians to figure out what the site’s future will be.

Bordered by several established neighbourhoods, the Edmonton Exhibition Lands accounts for more than 200 acres of prime urban space that includes:

The Coliseum (permanently closed and transferred to the City of Edmonton January 2018)

The Edmonton Expo Centre, an events and conference centre operated by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation

Northlands Park Casino and Race Track (closing late 2018)

Borden Park

The Coliseum LRT Station

Major arterial roads such as Wayne Gretzky Drive

About the Project

Next Steps

Fall 2018

Share possible redevelopment scenarios for feedback. Council will then review the possible redevelopment scenarios and the public feedback on each scenario. When that is complete, the Administration will make a recommendation as to the preferred scenario.

July 2018

June 21

Two public idea review sessions were held at the Edmonton Expo Centre to review idea themes and create potential combinations that might work.

April 10 - May 7

The City received all of your big ideas for the future redevelopment of Edmonton Exhibition Lands. Over the coming months, we will be using the ideas gathered to develop land use scenarios. Public input to help build these scenarios will be gathered through participation at the June 21 session.

April 3

Guiding principles for the project were endorsed at Urban Planning Committee. These guiding principles were created with input from over 2300 responses and interactions with the public. They are the foundational principles that will help assess any big ideas that come forward for the area.

March 23

Council agreed to terminate a sponsorship agreement between the City and Oilers Entertainment Group. This decision means the Coliseum building will be permanently closed with no future reuse. This decision provides the opportunity to see wide open potential for the lands north of 118 Avenue.

March 8

The public launch of the idea generation for the entire 200 acres of Edmonton's Exhibition Lands is expected to launch soon. Watch for this at the beginning of April. This will include the lands only; there will be no re-purposing or reuse of any buildings on site.

The City is exploring how they might activate the parking lot at the north of the site during the spring and summer months with things like basketball, temporary skateboard facilities and movie nights. More to come as discussions happen with partners that might be interested.

The City continues to work on demolition costs for buildings on the site to inform future planning work, the area redevelopment plan and any future land sales. There are no specific demolition plans at this time.

Very high level Coliseum station LRT station designs have been developed. These designs will not proceed any further until the area redevelopment plan advances and adjacent uses and future development and fit can be considered.

February 22

On February 22, Administration took reports forward to Executive Committee which then went to City Council on February 27.

Council agreed to proceed with an idea generation phase starting in the first quarter of 2018 as well as the termination of the sponsorship agreement with Oilers Entertainment Group including the permanent closure use of the Coliseum building.

Stay Informed

As dates are confirmed for information sharing or public engagement, they will be posted to the City's website. Sign up for our project newsletter to receive the latest updates and next steps.

Decisions

Council

On March 23, 2018 Council agreed to terminate a sponsorship agreement between the City and Oilers Entertainment Group. This decision means the Coliseum building will be permanently closed with no future reuse.

Approved an expanded strategic approach to the Edmonton Exhibition Lands city-building opportunity. This includes the continuation of the Area Redevelopment Plan, supplemented by a new approach that taps into the magnitude of the opportunity. The expanded approach will provide multiple touch points with the public and stakeholders.

Requested Administration come back to Council with a report that outlines the pros, cons and risks to the City to redevelop the coliseum site (16 acres north 118 Avenue). This report went to Executive Committee on February 22, 2018. As the report goes before Executive Committee first, the date it will come to Council has not yet been set.

Approved to transfer operations of the EXPO Centre to Edmonton Economic Development Corporation effective January 1, 2018. This transfer facilitates joint operation of major conference facilities under one operator in the city.

Approved the closure of the coliseum building and operations effective January 1, 2018.

Approved the phased-out transition of the remaining site operations, including the casino and track operations, throughout 2018 and finalized by the end of 2018.

Northlands

Will continue to operate K-Days and Farmfair International for a number of years, within a current agreement of up to five years.

Background

Transformation

This area is undergoing a major transformation with the transfer of the coliseum back to City ownership on January 1, 2018, the transfer of the Expo Centre operations to Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, and the casino and horse track winding down operations by the end of 2018.

As the City’s second largest urban infill site, in a premier location close to downtown, LRT and transit, the river valley, a vibrant park area and green space amenities, this is an opportunity made for Edmonton and its big ideas.

FAQ

These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) cover a broad range of topics that provide more detailed information for some of the most often asked questions by Edmontonians about what's happening at Edmonton's Exhibition Lands.

Exhibition Lands Study Area

Planning the Area

Phase 1

Idea Generation

This phase will be both a formal procurement process as well as a public process that will encourage and ask for a broad spectrum of ideas for the Edmonton Exhibition Lands.

This work is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

Phase 2

Due Diligence

This phase will collect all the ideas provided to the City and review them looking at feasibility, alignment with project principles and other City priorities.

This work is anticipated to be completed in late second quarter of 2018.

Phase 3

Develop Concepts

This phase will establish a shortlist of development concepts using a review that includes economic analysis and evaluation criteria.

This work is anticipated to be completed in the third quarter of 2018.

Phase 4

Refine Concepts

This phase will further refine the economic and strategic analysis of the development concepts. The concepts will be shared with the Community Stakeholder Committee, area community leagues, special interest stakeholders, business, industry and Edmontonians.

This work is anticipated to be completed in late 2018.

Engagement History

Information Sessions

September 18, 2018

The project team held two public engagement events at the Bellevue Community Hall. The concepts were shared with the Community Stakeholder Committee, area community leagues, special interest stakeholders, business, industry and Edmontonians to further refine the economic and strategic analysis of the development concepts.

Online Surveys

September 19 - 30, 2018 and June 1 - 30, 2017

The public was invited to provide insight through an online survey. The feedback helps inform how the project unfolds.

Connect With Us

We received valuable input over the last year and while the project scope has grown, that input is still valued and will be included in work as we go forward. We continue to invite everyone to take advantage of this unique opportunity to meet the challenge of the Edmonton Exhibition Lands.